Energy Department parts company with Trump appointee who called Muslims ‘maggots’

President Donald Trump appointed a massage therapist from New Hampshire with no apparent relevant experience to work at the Energy Department, but parted company with the employee Friday after a series of anti-Muslim social media posts came to light, current and former DOE employees tell POLITICO.

Sid Bowdidge had received a nameplate and taken up residence this week in the director’s office of the agency’s Office of Technology Transitions, a career DOE employee said, but it was not clear precisely when he started or what his job would be. OTT specializes in shepherding research developed at the national labs into the private sector, an area in which Bowdidge didn't seem to have any experience.

Story Continued Below

Before joining DOE, Bowdidge worked for the Trump campaign, according to Federal Election Commission records. An August 2015 NBC News report quoted Bowdidge attending a debate watch party in Trump’s New Hampshire campaign office, describing him as a “massage therapist from Bedford.”

DOE employees were unsettled by Bowdidge’s caustic Twitter account, on which he accused then-President Barack Obama of having terrorist "relatives" and spouted anti-Muslim views.

POLITICO took several screenshots of Bowdidge’s Twitter account Thursday night before it was made private sometime Friday.

In a tweet on Dec. 6, 2015, Bowdidge wrote that “Obama won’t use the term radical Islam because they’re his relatives!!!!” A day later, replying to a CNN tweet that included a picture of the suspected San Bernardino shooters, Bowdidge wrote, “Scum sucking maggots of the world. Exterminate them all.”

And during a dispute with someone on Twitter a week later, Bowdidge replied to the person "wouldn't say that if it was your wife, sister or family member that was murdered by some Muslim piece of shit."

DOE said Friday that Bowdidge is not with the agency anymore. Buzzfeed first reported the news. Greentech Media reported earlier in the day on his social media history and apparent lack of qualifications.

“Normally, we do not comment on personnel matters. In this case, we can confirm that Sid Bowdidge is no longer employed at the Department of Energy,” said Bob Haus, a DOE spokesperson.

The source for energy and environment news — weekday mornings, in your inbox.

Email

By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Bowdidge is not the first person to join the Trump administration despite a disconcerting social media presence. Several Trump appointees to the Education Department have also been found to have shared controversial views about women, African-Americans and transgender people, among others.

Bowdidge’s unfiltered opinions caught the attention of some DOE staff.

“Every time there’s a new political that comes in, we’re all ‘Who is this guy? What’s his background?’” the career staffer told POLITICO. OTT staff hadn’t received many details about Bowdidge’s official responsibilities, experience or position but their Google searches turned up some “colorful” information.

“This person’s in charge of, theoretically, overseeing the policy around commercializing billions of dollars of federal research,” the employee said. “This guy seems like he’s pretty far out , and we just don’t know. It looks like sort of a ridiculous appointment.”

Bowdidge could not be reached for comment.

Former Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz launched OTT in 2015 to help address longstanding bureaucratic hurdles involved with getting research from its 17 national labs into the marketplace. Rochelle Blaustein, the senior member of OTT’s career staff, has been serving as the office’s acting director.